On Snakes and Scoundrels
by jormungandRising
Summary: Post-Sgrub. The trolls are somehow back on Alternia. Two sweeps later, Feferi must stand against the Condesce for the throne, but before she can, the Condesce is poisoned and a new unknown heiress stands to take her throne. Meanwhile, Karkat's eyes are changing color. (Warning: OCs. AU, rated for cuss words and some blood that'll come later.) ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

The sun was rising over the ocean, its dull light sparkling off the waves. Morning was still far off, but a tiny piece of red was showing on the horizon. The heat of the Alternian sun was already scorching.

Most trolls were already asleep by now, but not all of them.

A single troll stood on a rock that stuck up from the water, staring towards the light. It was just bright enough to sting her eyes, but she didn't care.

She watched impassively, a slight smile quirking her lips. The light didn't bother her at all. She smiled, revealing sharply pointed fangs.

Tomorrow would be a very good night.


	2. Back to Alternia

_**(Author Note!: This is full of random OCs, just like a lot of AU fanfics. If you don't like it then leave because the fan trolls are pretty much necessary to the plot. Also, this isn't a shipping story. I am terrible at romance in general and troll romance is not an exception, so this fic will be primarily plot-based. I might add a couple ships to make the story interesting or to complicate things a bit, but mostly what's canon will stay canon. This takes place in an AU which diverges from canon shortly after the trolls enter the Veil. Everyone is still alive. Also-OMG people are actually reading this I feel so accomplished.)**_

* * *

Feferi Peixes woke up very disoriented.

"What the glub just _happened?_" she wondered aloud, taking a look around her surroundings. She didn't recognize anything nearby. She was on land, that much was certain, but she didn't recognize her location. The smell of salt water and rotting fish assured her that she was near the ocean, as did the grit of sand beneath her, but that did nothing to aid her perception.

"Hey lil sis, you okay?"

Feferi shot up off the ground, drawing her trident in alarm. Gamzee Makara was standing over her, wearing a concerned look that showed through his makeup.

"Gamzee? But—where are we?"

"On the beach, sis. Come on in and get your warm on, it's motherfucking chilly out here." Gamzee began wandering along the beach, and Feferi wondered if he was totally sure where he was going. The juggalo troll wasn't exactly all right in the think pan.

Feferi looked up and saw a very familiar sky. She was on Alternia! She shook her head, remembering. But the game had destroyed her planet, she knew that! How had she gotten here, of all places? If they had somehow been deposited back on Alternia, shouldn't she be in or at least near her own hive, instead of near Gamzee's? The purple-blooded troll was honking to himself, completely lost whatever was running through his mind.

"F…Fef? Is that you?" Feferi whirled around to see her former moirail lying on the ground. Eridan's precious violet cape was covered in damp sand, but he was otherwise unharmed.

"_Eridan_?" So both the seadwelling trolls had been deposited on land. Apparently they had landed in the same place, too. It made Feferi wonder. Gamzee had obviously arrived at or near his own hive, but what about the others? She was especially worried about the lowbloods; if they landed in the wrong place they could be in real danger.

"Fef, wwhere are wwe?"

"Somewhere near Gamzee's hive, I think." The aforementioned troll hadn't even noticed Eridan yet. "Come on, we're going to visit!" Eridan groaned.

"Stupid land dwwellers aren't wworth it."

"Eridan!"

"Sorry." The violet-blood reluctantly followed the other two, trudging his feet along in the sand. That was when they heard the distant yelling.

"WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUCK?" Feferi recognized that voice. Karkat! She darted ahead of Gamzee towards the source of the cussing to find the Cancer troll standing, bewildered, farther down the beach.

"Karkat!"

"Feferi? What in the actual _fuck_ is going _on_?"

"Karkat, we won the game! We're back on Alternia!"

"Firstly: what? Secondly: _HOW?_"

"I have no glubbing clue."

"Best friend. Psst, best friend." Gamzee snaked his arm around Karkat, who looked very disgruntled. "It's the motherfuckin' miracles, they're getting their exist on all around us and it's beautiful. Life is beautiful. HOOOOONK."

"So wwhat, did wwe all just land near Gamz's hive or somefin?"

"Glub! Probably!" Karkat stared at the three highbloods and cussed under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"Fuck. Let's just go back to Gamzee's hive and figure all this out."

"Sounds alright to me, motherfuckers. Honk. Honk. Honk." Karkat papped Gamzee to calm him down.

When the group reached Gamzee's hive, however, they weren't the only ones there. All of the trolls were present, from Equius and Vriska to the recently revived Aradia.

And that was when Feferi noticed something else, that she'd overlooked before: they were all perfect. No, more than perfect.

Aradia was alive. Tavros was walking. Vriska had both eyes and her real arm. Terezi was still blind, but all of the others were completely whole.

_And_ they had wings. _Wings._

Feferi had slept in enough dream bubbles to know god tier wings when she saw them, and when she twisted to look at her own back she noticed her own as well. Karkat was the only one without them.

"What the _fuck_ is going on here?" the short, nub-horned troll demanded.

"Wow, Karkat. You're suuuuuuuuch a good leader. You don't even know god tier when you see it." Vriska Serket leaned casually against the outer wall of Gamzee's hive, grinning in a manner that could only be described as devious.


	3. God Tier

_**(Author Note: If anyone is still reading this—which is doubtful after that beginning—then I'm sorry for the prologue. If you make it past here then it gets soooo much better, I promise. The actual plot stuff starts happening next chapter, there'll be a time skip. I just have to set up background information and establish the wings/god tier weirdness; otherwise it's confusing later on. This is the first fic I've written so it's probably crappy, forgive me. Also, I'm terrible at writing Gamzee. But oh well…)**_

* * *

God tier. Feferi had heard the term before, and she'd seen its effects on Aradia and Vriska, but that didn't explain anything really. Were they all god tiers now? It had to be some kind of reward for finally beating the game, but that didn't make sense. No one had died, and furthermore none of them were wearing silly outfits like Vriska and Aradia had gained.

"What the fuck, Serket!" Karkat yelled, demanding an answer. Gamzee shooshed him.

"Quiet, brother, a girl's gotta get her talk on if we're gonna drag the magic out of these miracles," said the Capricorn. He honked softly.

"Uh, what Gamzee said,,," Tavros added nervously. He did not appear to have any pants on, just a pair of bright blue underwear. This was certainly awkward.

"Tavros? Erm…where are your pants?" Feferi asked.

"I, uh, I don't know," he replied. Vriska cackled.

"Just go back to your lame old lives, losers. Oh, and you have maaaaaaaagic powers now," she stage-whispered.

Feferi shrugged. Well, that was certainly anticlimactic.

Wait—magic powers?

"Magic's not real, VVris," Eridan called out.

"Sure it is!" Feferi could practically see Vriska's characteristic eight-eyed emoticon on the spidertroll's face. "You just have to belieeeeeeeeve."

"That's glubbin' nonsense."

"Nope!" Again came the spider-grin.

"Okay," Karkat interceded, still yelling. "I hereby declare this conference over on account of I fucking can't stand you assholes any longer. Goodbye." He strode off, presumably back towards his hive.

"I guess…sea you all later?"

"Sounds fine to me, motherfucker. Honk." Everyone else replied shortly after Gamzee. They all still seemed confused to be back on Alternia, and they slowly dispersed away from Gamzee's hive.

"Bye, Gamzee!" Feferi called, grinning. The stoned-out Capricorn waved goodbye.

"Later, sis."

Slowly, the twelve friends went home, Gamzee's farewell honks fading away in the distance.

**~Two Sweeps Pass~**

* * *

**(A/N, Again: Sorry this was such a short chapter, and sorry for being so late to update. My schedule's a little crazy right now and I don't have much inspiration. 38( Next update will be longer. This is where the action starts 38D hehehe….)**


	4. Two Sweeps Later

Feferi Peixes was not having a very ordinary night. She had just returned from hunting lusii with Eridan, just like old times. It was certainly a good thing that he'd gotten over the rejection finally. Secretly, Feferi wondered if he still had a grudge on her for going out with Sollux, but she was pretty sure he'd moved on. At least, she hoped he had. But that wasn't important.

The night had really been made unusual by the imperial drones sent by the Condesce to kill her. Feferi had been expecting an attack for some time now, but it was still startling.

She guessed that she should be a little more shaken by her first survived assassination attempt, but it had been a fairly feeble attempt. Only a couple drones were sent, and she'd been able to persuade them to leave with her lovely culling fork.

She opened up a new Trollian window, hoping that someone would be online, but the only handles lit up were Eridan's and Sollux's. She didn't really feel like talking to Eridan—that always took more effort than she had—so it would have to be Sollux.

cuttlefishCuller began trolling twinArmaggeddons

CC: ) (i Sollux!

TA: hii fef

CC: So ) (ow's your day been? 38)

TA: boriing

TA: eriidan won't 2top botheriing me.

CC: Awwww 38(

CC: WAAAAAIIT

CC: Was t) (is per) (aps….BLACK FLIRTING?

TA: the day ii fliirt wiith that douchebag ii2 the day ii diie.

CC: W) (AL-E, it doesn't sound t) (at way to M-E.

TA: eriidan ii2 too iin2ufferable to even make a proper kiismesiis, fef.

TA: ii have to go do 2tuff.

TA: 2ee you later

CC: Aw BY-E!

twinArmaggeddons ceased being trolled by cuttlefishCuller.

Okay, so Sollux was busy. She now officially had nothing to do.

Even more bored than before, Feferi opened her browser. Her home page was now a news site, because as much as she enjoyed her old one, she needed to keep up with what was happening. As a future empress, it was sort of her duty.

Feferi wasn't sure why the news site even existed though…she never saw anything important th—WHAT?

That was when she spotted the headline: "HER IMPERIOUS CONDESCENSION POISONED."

The Condesce was dead? Feferi's eyes nearly shot out of her skull when she saw it. She read the headline over and over to make sure she wasn't going crazy. She opened Trollian again—she had to make sure that she wasn't insane.

cuttlefishCuller began trolling caligulasAquarium

CC: -ERIDAN!

CA: fef?

CA: wwhat is it?

CC: -Eridan did you ) (ear?

CA: hear wwhat

CC: T) (-E COND-ESC-E is D-EAD. And it wasn't M-E!

CA: wwell, congratulations on your ascendance

CA: this sure makes things easier.

CC: NO! –Eridan, you don't understand.

CC: S) (e's dead, and I didn't krill ) (er. Someone else did. Wit) ( poison.

CA: no wway.

CA: youre shitting me.

CC: -Eridan I want you to c) (eck your ) (usktop and make sure that I'm not going crazy.

CA: uh sure

CA: OH SHIT YOU WWERENT KIDDING

CC: But w) (o? 38O

CA: oh no

CA: this isn't good

CC: W) (at?

CA: turn on your television, NOWW.

cuttlefishCuller ceased trolling caligulasAquarium

Worried, Feferi switched on the television set in one of the rooms of her hive, stroking a nearby cuttlefish for comfort.

When she finally understood what the teenage reporter was announcing, her face grew pale. This was worse than she ever could have imagined.

* * *

Karkat Vantas stared at the computer screen, bored out of his mind. He could hear Crabdad screeching from downstairs, but the noise wasn't worth getting up for. He drummed his fingers on the keyboard. Why wouldn't Terezi log in? She'd promised to get in touch that evening, and it was already midnight, the moons up and shining.

"Fuck you, Pyrope…" he muttered to himself. It wasn't like his off-and-on matesprit to be so flighty, unless she was…of course. She was playing with her scalemates again, probably involved in some highly complicated single-person roleplay scenario. That was why she hadn't trolled him yet.

He waited a little longer, then decided to send the first message.

carcinoGeneticist began trolling gallowsCalibrator

CG: TEREZI? TEREZI, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING.

CG: YOU SAID YOU WOULD TROLL ME AND I HAVE FUCKING BEEN WAITING FOR FOUR FUCKING HOURS.

CG: STOP GOOFING AROUND WITH YOUR STUPID FUCKING SCALEMATES AND GET YOUR BLIND ASS TO A HUSKTOP, PRONTO.

GC: OH NO K4RKL3S 1 FORGOT! :[

GC: SORRY

CG: YOU FORGOT?

CG: NO SHIT YOU FORGOT.

CG: YOU'RE A FUCKING GENIUS OVER THERE. YOU FORGOT. WHAT WILL YOU FORGET NEXT? A DATE? AN APPOINTMENT? OR GOG FORBID, A FUCKING SCALEMATE?

GC: 1 WOULD N3V3R FORG3T MY PLUSH13S :[

CG: JUST EXPLAIN WHAT THE FUCK KEPT YOU FROM TROLLING ME AT ANY TIME IN THE LAST FOUR HOURS.

GC: 1 DONT 3V3N KNOW WH3R3 TO ST4RT.

GC: K4RKL3S TH1S 1S S3R1OUS STUFF.

CG: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?

GC: 1 C4NT 3V3N 3XPL41N…JUST TURN ON YOUR T3L3V1S1ON.

GC: NOW. :[

* * *

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS LOCK RIGHT NOW. MY CAPS KEY JAMMED AND SO DID BOTH MY SHIFT KEYS. MY COMPUTER'S BASICALLY BEING A SPASTIC FREAK SO I'M STUCK IN KARKAT MODE. ANYWAYS. I FEEL LIKE A SUCKUP ASKING, BUT PLEASE DO REVIEWS-I WOULD REALLY LOVE ANY ADVICE AS TO HOW I COULD MAKE THIS BETTER THAN IT IS. I KNOW ALREADY THAT MY RENDITION OF SOLLUX IS TERRIBLE, BUT IF YOU NOTICE ANY OTHER OUT OF CHARACTER CRAP PLEASE INFORM ME SO I CAN FIX IT. THANKS Y'ALL.**

**AND I SWEAR I'LL FIX THE CAPS KEY BEFORE NEXT UPDATE. **


	5. The Broadcast

**A/N: Yay I have followers XD this pleases me. So now I'm finally going to reveal what happened on the television…**_**sort of**_**… :D hehehe.**

The reporter, Hekoyo Farrin, stood in front of a blank white screen preparing to give his daily news report, when an intern darted into the room, his horns nearly brushing the top of the door.

"There's been a change in plan for the broadcast. Urgent news!" The intern, an olive-blood, handed Hekoyo a sheaf of hastily-prepared papers.

"This had better be good."

"The Condesce has been assassinated!" Okay, Hekoyo wasn't expecting that.

"So does this mean that that heiress girl is going to take over the throne?" Hekoyo wondered. This was completely unprecedented. He couldn't even imagine an Alternian empire that wasn't governed by Her Imperious Condescension. There was no history taught from before the Condesce's rule, and no heiress had ever had the nerve to even _try_ to off the Condesce before being killed.

"No!"

"Wait, hang on a second. What?"

"There's—there's a new heiress, and she's taken credit for the assassination, and she's going to be taking over the throne!"

"It's not that Peixes girl?"

"No, it's not! Just read the broadcast when the cameras go on, everything's written out on the papers. And don't mess up, the new empress would be _livid_."

"What's her name?"

"We're not allowed to use it. She's only given out her new title."

"She won't be calling herself a Condesce?"

"No. She wants to be referred to as the Seasnake Emperess—putting an extra 'e' in empress so it has three syllables. She was very specific about that, or at least that's what the person who gave me the papers said."

"Gotcha." With that, Hekoyo began the broadcast, signaling for the cameraman to turn on his equipment.

This special broadcast would be beamed all across the empire and back to Alternia.

"Good night, Alternians. Tonight's breaking news: her Imperious Condescension has been poisoned and removed from her position as the leader of the Alternian Empire. As is fitting to this new era of history, all trace of the past will…er…will be purged.

"The new leader of the Alternian Empire shall be the Seasnake Empress—Emp_er_ess. The Emperess has, as her first action in office, executed all highblood officials who failed to swear their loyalty to her and she has completed an investigation as to the actions of many others." Hekoyo paused.

"It has been found that…that Feferi Peixes, the erstwhile heiress to the Alternian throne, is a traitor to the Empire and to the hemospectrum. She stands accused of associating with lowbloods, including some who could be classified as rust bloods, and she has previously made known her intentions to end classification by blood color. This is an offense punishable by…by culling." Hekoyo was alarmed by what he was reading, but he continued.

"The Peixes girl and another seadweller, Eridan Ampora, have been decreed criminals. They are wanted for the above reasons as well as many others. If either of them is seen anywhere in the empire, inform an authority immediately. I repeat, inform an authority immediately. They have been stripped of highblood status and should no longer be treated as royalty. Mention of either of their names, outside of reports on their location, is forbidden."

Hekoyo had been expecting something of the sort about exterminating Peixes, but the other name was unfamiliar to him. The rest of the broadcast was fairly predictable. The new Emperess had removed Her Imperious Condescension's loyal followers from every level of the government and army, including the lead Threshecutioner and several others.

The broadcast paused for a moment to show some pre-recorded propaganda involving the Betty Crocker Company that the station had mandated. Hekoyo was a little nervous, because after all, the Condesce was dead now—showing her propaganda could be considered treason against the Emperess.

But he had to follow orders. His news crew hadn't been told to change their propaganda yet, so there might not be conseque—BAM.

The door was knocked in and threshecutioners swarmed into the room, surrounding the news crew. The cameras had switched back to live film. Hekoyo was pressed up against the wall, a sickle at his throat. _Shit_, he thought.

Then, someone new entered the room. Hekoyo could only make out her silhouette. The troll girl looked to be about nine sweeps old, too young to have been sent to space already, but she carried herself like a fully grown adult. She smiled, revealing sharply pointed fangs that shimmered in the darkness of the back of the room.

"And thisss isss what happensss to thossse who continue their loyalty to the Condessssssce," the Emperess hissed, standing out of view of the news cameras. "Guardsss. Dissspossse of them."

As the Empire watched, teal and olive blood spattered across the walls of the newsroom and the uniforms of the Threshecutioners.

The Emperess was smiling as she left the room, daintily avoiding the reporter's pooling blood. That should teach them. She was in charge now, and she would _not_ be disobeyed. Those lowbloods had simply learned that the hard way.

Terezi Pyrope had known what the broadcast would say. She had been expecting the declaration of Eridan and Feferi as traitors, and she had expected the culling of the Condesce's top supporters, but it worried her all the same. She switched off the television and turned around to an unexpected sight: Dragonmom.

Terezi had known that the others' lusii were alive and well, due to the mysterious workings of the game, but she hadn't smelled her own guardian since their victory. It had worried her at first, but Terezi knew that Dragonmom would survive. Still, it was startling to smell her in real life.

"Hi, Dragonmom." Sniff, sniff.

"_Hi Terezi!"_ Dragonmom replied telepathically, sniffing out the shape of the young troll. Terezi responded in kind.

"How long have you been here? I haven't smelled you!"

"_It took me longer to return than the others! I only just arrived!" _the dragon lusus responded. _"But that isn't important! You have a duty, Terezi!" _

"What do you mean? The game is over."

"_The game is over, but it still continues. And you, my daughter, have a very special purpose in this new world! Those wings on your back are still there, Terezi. Go! There is justice to be delivered and you must be the one to deliver it!" _

Karkat stood up and turned off the television when the Betty Crocker ad started. He paced back and forth, growing increasingly worried. Would Eridan and Feferi be okay? If they were making announcements like this on public television, then the new Emperess had almost certainly sent culling drones after the duo. But if they were demanding information on the two's whereabouts, then perhaps the two seadwellers had gotten away?

Karkat went to his husktop and opened Trollian again, praying that one of the two would be online….When he saw Feferi's chat name lit up he let out a long sigh of relief that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.

carcinoGeneticist began trolling cuttlefishCuller

CG: FEFERI!

CG: FEFERI, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? DID YOU SEE THE BROADCAST?

CG: FEFERI, YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF YOUR HIVE. NOW.

CC: Karkat, it's okay! I'm ) (ere!

CC: Yes, I saw the broadcast. But I'm fin, and I'm about to leave the ) (ive.

CC: Don't worry 38)

CG: FEFERI, PLEASE.

CG: BE CAREFUL.

CC: Don't worry, Karkat.

CC: I'll be fin.

cuttlefishCuller ceased being trolled by carcinoGeneticist.

Oh gog, those fish puns. Did she have to bring out the fish puns even when her life was in danger? But she was safe, for now. That was a good thing.

Karkat stood up from the husktop, turning away from his screen towards the window. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of his own reflection for the first time in several perigees.

He stared, and luminous scarlet stared back.

_Fuck_.


	6. insert title here?

Feferi stood at the top of her hive, looking downwards into the grand hall with her trident in hand. Her vascular pump was pounding, and she swore it was loud enough to be audible. Any moment now, soldiers sent by the other, unknown fuchsia blood would arrive at her hive. She didn't plan on dying.

Someone knocked firmly on the door. Feferi remained silent, tightening her grip on her weapon. The unknown visitor knocked a second time. Finally, someone outside the house yelled in to her.

"Fef? Feferi, it's Eridan!" Cautiously, Feferi leapt over the balcony and drifted through the water down to door level. She peered through a window carefully. Sure enough, Eridan was standing there. She opened the door.

"Eridan, I'm so reeflieved!" She pulled her fellow seatroll into a tight hug, forgetting their messed-up relationship for a moment. She was just so glad he was safe.

"Fef, wwe havve to get out of here."

"I know, but where could we go? Everyone will be looking for us!" Feferi was too worried and tired even to use her trademark fish puns at this point.

"That's where I come in!" said an unfamiliar voice. The new troll quickly found herself face-to-face with Feferi's culling trident.

"This is Nyrene, she's a friend. She said she wwould take us to a safe place," Eridan explained, gently moving Feferi's trident away from Nyrene's throat.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Nobody likes me…." Nyrene immediately started making a scene, proving herself to be even more melodramatic than Eridan.

"Shut up!" Eridan hissed. "Just take us to that safe place you were talking about."

"Right," said Nyrene, apparently shaking clear of her previous dramatics. "Your Majesty, my friends and I are supporters of you—and your goals. Some of us more than others, of course, but I'll admit freely that I'm not a fan of the hemospectrum, and I'm certainly not a fan of this new heiress coming in to take your throne. My moirail feels the same way, and she has a pretty decent-sized hive. She can house you and Eridan for a while until you're able to make contact with other friends of yours."

"Eridan, you're sure this friend of yours is trustworthy?" Feferi demanded, still on her guard. She wasn't sure if she could trust anyone any more. One of her culled cuttlefish drifted over and hovered near her shoulder.

"She savved my life. That's a pretty strong indicator."

"Come on, your Majesty. We have to hurry." Feferi followed.

Nyrene was a fairly average-sized troll, with short, wild hair and massive glasses. Her symbol looked like a circle with a slash through it, but Feferi didn't get too good of a look—she was too busy trying not to be seen.

Up ahead, Feferi could see several shapes moving in the darker, deeper waters. Nyrene muttered something under her breath that Feferi couldn't quite make out.

"Swim deeper," Eridan repeated so that Fef could hear. "There's a tunnel in the face of that dropoff." Feferi nodded.

Nyrene led the way into a dark, narrow, jagged hole. Feferi's hair got snagged in a jut of sharp rock and she had to yank it harder than she would've liked in order to unstick herself. Nyrene rolled her eyes.

For a while, Feferi couldn't see anything, and she had to rely on Nyrene's apparent knowledge of the terrain. But eventually they came out into an underground pool and emerged from the water into still, warm air. The solemn plink-plink of dripping water echoed through the cavern. There was absolutely no light, but that situation was remedied when Nyrene brushed her hand across the wall, causing bioluminescent algae on the stone to light up with brilliant colors.

"The pool is flooded completely at high tide," Nyrene said. "When the water goes up, the entrance to Syzyga's hive is hidden by waterweeds. Follow me."

They entered yet another hidden tunnel, but this one was increasingly dry and stairs were hewn into the stone. Finally, Nyrene opened a trap door and light spilled in, temporarily blinding Feferi.

"Nyrene, you're here. Good. I'm already entertaining guests, so we can have a nice big party reunion thing." Another unknown troll helped the sopping-wet trio out of the tunnel.

Nyrene's moirail was a cerulean-blood with almost as much hair as Feferi and sharply pointed horns. She waved when she saw Feferi and Eridan.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ampora. Your Majesty. My name's Syzyga Lazuli. Come on, the others have been waiting for you!"

"Others? What others?" Feferi asked Syzyga.

"Your friends! They've been really worried; they rushed straight over here when I told them you'd be coming."

"How've you been in touch with my fronds?"

"Hm? Oh. My matesprit lives near one of them…Sollux Captor? Yeah, him. They live in the same hivestem." Syzyga giggled. "Poor Talxin's taken more than he can bear with the psionic damage."

"Are you talking about my hive again?" A tall, skinny maroon-blooded troll sauntered over to Syzyga, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She grinned.

"Yup! Talxin, you should meet Feferi and Eridan! Guys, this is my matesprit Talxin." Talxin looked extremely nervous at being introduced to the two seadwellers, and he shrank into himself, intimidated.

"I…er…"

"Oh, come _on._ I've told you before and I'll tell you again, Talx—blood color doesn't matter in my hive and it never has."

"I…uh…right. Hi, your Majesties. My name is Talxin Sigmar…"

"Hi!" Feferi glubbed, grinning. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Feferi Peixes."

"Right…" Talxin looked terrified, and he detached from Syzyga to slink away back into the depths of the spacious hive.

"Wwhat's his deal?" Eridan asked. "I guess he hasn't heard that wwe'vve been demoted from royalty…" Syzyga laughed.

"No, he has, he's just skittish. It doesn't make much sense, actually, but I've learned to put up with it. He just had some nasty experiences with highbloods, especially seadwellers, when he was a grub."

"So can we go see our friends now?"

"Of course!" Syzyga dashed down the halls, yelling, and the two seadwellers plus Nyrene tried to keep up. Feferi caught sight of a large hall before she was tackled by a blur of blue, red, and yellow.

"Feferii! II heard you were goiing two come but I wath tho worriied…"

"Sollux! Solfish, you're here!" Now that Sollux had greeted Feferi, he returned to his usual self. He shrugged.

"Tav and TZ are here two. And KN should arriive any day now."

"Water bout the others?" Feferi asked, ignoring the evil looks that Eridan was currently shooting at Sollux. "Is it just you?" Sollux adjusted his trademark glasses, starting to look a little worried.

"KK can't travel right now. He won't tell me why. And no one'th…no one'th heard from Vriithka or AA iin at leatht a thweep. Equiiuth turned traiitor agaiintht uth, he'th workiing for the Empereth. And GZ iith…well, he'th GZ. He'th probably two th'toned two help anywayth."

"Oh…well, it's nice to sea you."

"Tavroth and Terethzi are downth'tairth. Come on." Feferi and Eridan followed Sollux into a main room, and Sollux knocked on the door. Syzyga and Nyrene had left them behind to give them some privacy with their friends. The door opened.

"Tav—_whoa._" In the two sweeps since the game had ended and Feferi had last seen Tavros, the brown-blooded troll had grown tremendously. He now towered at least a foot over Feferi's head, his horns almost too wide to fit through the doorway. He looked like he was at least as tall as Gamzee now, and Feferi had still been getting used to his legs working in the first place. The change was daunting.

"Uh, hi, Feferi," he said, hesitating, in the same voice he'd always had. At least his personality hadn't changed.

"Wow, Tav, you've…you've grown."

"I, uh…I guess…" Tavros moved out of the door, and Feferi entered. Terezi sniffed the air, grinning like a shark in Feferi's direction.

"Smells like justice," she remarked. Feferi had no idea how to respond to that. Tavros took an awkward seat near Terezi, and Feferi noted that his lusus was accompanying him. Tinkerbull sat on the armrest, looking very content.

"Tho, fiirtht thiingth fiirtht: how do we get FF back on the throne?"

* * *

The troll girl swept serenely through the ruined temple, a slight smile curling lips. Her contact was waiting at the bottom of the steps, and she hurried her pace. The speaker did not like to be kept waiting.

She brushed careful fingers along the wall, triggering a hidden switch. A door slid open in what was previously solid stone. Perfect.

The ruin itself was desolate and neglected, having laid untouched for sweeps upon sweeps, but once she stepped into the hidden passageway the atmosphere changed. Cold, clammy, stagnant air changed to warmth that felt good on her recently resurrected skin.

Aradia had missed that feeling.

She kept walking. She had important news to report.

* * *

**A/N: Hi! So I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update-I've been really busy with an AP test this week, among other things...but I promise I'll do my best to update more often. The chapters will also probably get longer and longer after this, because I'm starting to get into the stride of the plot and it's easier for me to write more. I'm also going to beg for reviews again, sorry, I just like to get feedback-am I staying in character? And also, do you guys think I'm going a little overboard with the fan trolls? Because I do have a lot of them, and it's a little self indulgent. I could probably cut a couple but most of them are important to the plot. Also-last thing-I'm terrible at relationships, like I said, but these are the ones that will probably end up happening: NepKat (because it's adorable, they might not stay together). Equius and Aradia in black. POSSIBLY SolRadia red. GamKar pale, of course. POSSIBLY Feferi and Eridan, but the quadrant is unknown. POSSIBLY Vriska and Kanaya but that one is fairly unlikely to happen. None of the relationships are going to be major plot focuses because like I've said previously I'm bad at writing romance, but they might end up being there. ALSO-omg I swear this is the last thing-there MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT be a canon/OC ship in there somewhere involving Eridan and Nyrene because their personalities are hilariously compatible but it will PROBABLY not happen. I would appreciate advice in this area, I know some people aren't into the canon/OC stuff (including me in most cases).**

**ALSO THIS IS WAY TOO LONG FOR AN AUTHOR NOTE. Sorry. I will try not to do this again. **


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